Gameplay Teaser Released For Tribes: Ascend

Ever since Tribes: Ascend was first announced earlier this year, I've been in a frenzied state. Starsiege Tribes was one of the greatest online FPS games ever and, as an online sci-fi FPS game, it is still the best. Not even Halo's multiplayer experience can compare to it (oh yeah...I went there). In fact, if you want to know why I say that, then check out a previous post of mine called "Halo Heathens Can Suck My Tribes." Yet since we were made aware of its existence, Hi-Rez studios hasn't really given us much information about this long-awaited sequel.

Despite the lack of information IGN has recently posted up a Gameplay teaser trailer which appears to be very promising.

After looking at the trailer I am starting to feel good about this game. The maps looks as if they will be as expansive as the original and are very scenic. Graphics-wise the game looks good as well but my biggest concern, for this game, is the speed. You see the original game was fast-paced, especially when compared to today's FPS games. It is a worry which is justified since Tribes: Ascend is being released for, supposedly, both the PC and consoles. But judging by the small amount of gameplay being shown, the speed doesn't seemed to have been sacrificed too much. It appears to be a little slower than the original but I would have to see more and play a demo before I can say for sure whether of not Hi-Rez Studios has kept it at the same pace.

On top of the released trailer Hi-Rez studios announced that the game would be free-to-play. While not surprising I am curious to know whether or not micro-transactions will be a part of the gaming experience. If it is, then I am hoping that it will be cosmetic items rather than weapons or armor which will be offered up for sale.

Yet, despite the promising trailer, I still have concerns. Mainly that of modding tools and, to a point, dedicated servers (of course if the game is F2P then there will not be modding tools). I am hopping, though, that modding tools will be available to the PC community so that we will have some awesome user-created maps. But, in the case of dedicated servers, i will not be surprised if there is no support. After all, the original game didn't support dedicated servers but, instead, had a master server (once those went down the PC-community put up their own). While I would much prefer that Tribes: Ascend have true dedicated server support, and modding tools, I'll have to face facts that this is nothing more than wishful thinking on my part.

However the game looks good so far and I am really going nuts. I want to see more gameplay footage of this game! I do hope that more information will be revealed soon considering that the game is, supposedly, coming out December of this year.

But what do you think about Tribes: Ascend? Are you impressed by the gameplay trailer?

Off-topic:

First off, I don't want to hear anyone say that it looks like Halo! I'll shove Master Chief's powersuit up where the sun don't shine!

Secondly the Supreme Court voted in favor of the video game industry in the Schwarzenegger vs EMA case. The proposed California law would have banned the sale of violent video games that, while theoretically a good idea, would have have had severe repercussions for the game industry. If you want to know more about the case then check out my post "What is Schwarzenegger Vs EMA and Why Should You Care?" While we can breathe easy for now, this is not over. Sooner or later this is going to come up again and we need to be ready to do all we can to fight against it.